FOREST AND STREAM 
541 
and our stand, where Will’s head still was visi¬ 
ble. Would he never see them? Just then his 
southwester disappeared and I breathed again. 
Low down over the point the great birds worked 
until the old ten bore poked up. How they kicked 
and flapped as they turned up into the wind’s 
eye! Two puffs of smoke, and two geese crumpled 
up, two smaller puffs, and two more birds hurtled 
down. Will had used my gun for the second 
double. Three birds were dead in the air at once! 
Half an hour later, as my chum pushed open 
the shanty door with his fifty pounds of dead 
geese, and a broad grin on his good natured mug, 
I said, “Why didn’t you kill the other one?” 
“Couldn’t get two to lap on to save my life,” he 
replied. “Hope you don’t mind' me using your 
gun. Say, she’s a smart thing, ain’t she. But I 
like to fell out of the stand when she went off. 
I looked for a kick, but all it amounted to was a 
‘squitch.’ I made a nod, and pretty night fell head¬ 
long, but that smokeless seems to sling it for fair. 
It was dead easy, just like a settin’ shot; the wind 
held ’em as if they was froze.” For reply I 
reached under the bottom bunk, and pulling forth 
a brown jug set it on the table with two tin pints 
for company. “Drink hearty,” was all I said. 
On February third, 1914, twenty-nine geese 
hung up along the side of our shanty. It was our 
last night in camp together for this season, our 
decoys had worked to perfection, and the trip 
just ending had been a successful one. As usual, 
we were discussing “Louie,” the impossible. For 
had we not exhausted all our plans in trying for 
years to get him? My first question put to Will 
upon arrival at the little railway station each 
February, when he met me with the team, was 
always, “Is Louie back this winter?” And the 
last thing I said to him when our hands met in a 
goodby shake, was “If you get him let me know 
his weight.” And here was another season gone 
and the old honker had outwitted us again. 
Pushing open the door, Will stepped outside. 
“Don’t them geese sound handy,” said he. “What 
do you say if we take a foolish chance and wait 
in the blind up to the point? They might feed in 
with the tide.”. 
It was a beautifully mild night and “star calm” 
with a small moon shining, when we crawled up 
over the sea wall into our blind, and very enjoy¬ 
able it was as we smoked and listened to the 
mighty flock of geese out in the Bay in front of 
us. Across to the other shore there was an occa¬ 
sional flash of fire, and some seconds after, the 
report of black powder reached us as some black 
duck shooter took a shot in the semi-darkness. 
Behind us, up at the “main road,” we could hear 
the shuffle and pound of feet as the boys swung 
their partners and “hoed” it down on the sanded 
floor of the carriage house to the strain of a con¬ 
certina, at John Coffins “chopping bee.” 
Presently I made out a black line upon the 
water, which we knew was geese. As closer and 
closer they fed in toward us, the louder their 
honking sounded, at times resembling a pack of 
hounds in full cry hot upon the trail, and again 
as if hogs were fighting. What a din—discord¬ 
ant, and yet in tune. As some particularly good 
feeding spot was discovered, the birds jostled 
and crowded and pushed together, sissing and 
scolding. It was wonderful. 
Louie was there, oh yes! Now and again above 
the hubbub his deep “orunk” growled out above 
all his kind. I got his position from his call, and 
fearing at any moment the great army would get 
a signal from him to swim away, whispered, 
“Shall we shoot?” “Up to you,” said Will. The 
birds were all of seventy yards away, but I knew 
we surely could stop some out of all those heads, 
necks and wings. 
So often have we shot together by moonlight 
that without further talk I threw up my gun and 
counted “One—two.” Crack! went the Dupont, 
and crack again, as the mighty body of geese took 
wing. Rip! came back the sound of the heavy 
shot as it packed against them. Out of the blind 
sprung Will, halloing something, which on ac¬ 
count of the deafening roar of wings and honk¬ 
ing of frightened geese in conjunction I could 
not understand. Following his lead, I dashed over 
the beach into the water and off upon the tide 
covered flats as far as hip rubbers would allow. 
When the racket had subsided somewhat I could 
distinctly hear three cripples, spashing and flap¬ 
ping, but could not locate them in time to get in 
a shot before they swam to deeper water. 
Bang! went Will’s ten bore, and “got one,” 
came the call from out the darkness. Then, 
“Wade up to the windward, there is something 
up by the point that belongs to you,” he yelled. 
Following instructions I could just make out what 
I thought was our ice float drifting by the point, 
but upon wading closer it proved to be a goose. 
Oh, what a bird! He lay upon his back, his great 
neck extended, which I grasped, and wading back 
to shore towed him behind me. 
It was “Louie.” Yes, even in the dim moon 
blaze I could see that it must be he. In the shanty 
Will held the lantern while I weighed him on my 
salmon scales. The indicator stopped at eighteen 
pounds. All the signs of extreme old age were 
upon him. His pads were slit, toe nails worn and 
broken, and the grey throat patch almost met 
above his wise old head. “He’s yours,” said Will. 
“My gun missed fire. I forgot to load her.” A 
recent letter from Will confirms my victory, for 
does he not say, “Just got in from Beach Point, 
no Louie there. You sure trimmed him in the 
moonlight.” And then (in the vernacular of the 
South Shore), “but I believe if you had given 
them birds ten minutes more time you sure would 
had your ‘dying shot.’ ” 
The New Jones Bill—What It Provides 
Great Encouragement to the Breeders ©f Game Birds and Animals 
By Peter Flint. 
T HE so-called Jones Bill which recently be¬ 
came the law of this State, was passed to 
amend the present Conservation Law, gen¬ 
erally, in relation to fish and game. This bill will 
be eagerly studied by thousands of readers of 
Forest and Stream interested in the great sub¬ 
ject of propagation of fish and game of various 
kinds, as well as valuable fur bearing animals, 
many of which, but for this legislation, were 
doomed to almost complete extermination, so 
eagerly have they been hunted and trapped by 
the seekers after peltries. 
To begin with, Section 159 now states, that the 
Conservation Commission may issue a license to 
any person, permitting the holder to collect or 
possess fish, aquatic animals, quadrupeds, birds, 
bird’s nests or eggs, for propagation, scientific or 
exhibition purposes. 
Before such license can be issued by the Com¬ 
mission, the person desiring to obtain it must file 
with the Commission testimonial letters as to his 
character, standing and purposes, written in his 
behalf by two well known scientific men. Then, 
the applicant must pay $1 to the Commission for 
his license, and file a bond in the penal sum of 
$200 with two responsible sureties, to be approved 
by the Commission, the bond stating that the ap¬ 
plicant will not violate the provisions of this 
article or use his license for any purpose, except 
as therein mentioned. This section applies to 
every applicant for such a license, except a game 
protector, a duly chartered museum or society, 
incorporated for scientific or public exhibition 
purposes, or an officer thereof, and the license is 
revocable at the pleasure of the Commission. 
Coming down to the more purely commercial 
questions, the Commission may also issue a license 
to any person, permitting him to possess any 
species of fish, game birds, aquatic animals or 
quadrupeds, protected by this chapter, for propa¬ 
gation purposes, upon payment of one dollar 
license fee. The Commission may, in its discre¬ 
tion, require a bond from such person, in such 
amount as it may decide, binding the applicant 
not to avail himself of the privileges of the 
license for any purpose not mentioned in said 
license. 
Permits. 
The Conservation Commission may issue per¬ 
mits to enable persons to ship fish, aquatic ani¬ 
mals, game and quadrupeds lawfully taken and 
possessed for propagation, scientific or educa¬ 
tional purposes, under such regulations as the 
Commission may prescribe. 
Any person receiving a license under Section 
159, may sell fish, aquatic animals, quadrupeds 
and game lawfully possessed under this section, 
for propagation, scientific, educational or exhibi¬ 
tion purposes only. 
The holder of such license must report the re¬ 
sult of its operation in his hands annually to the 
Commission, at the expiration of the license, 
which shall remain in force for one year from 
its date of issue and not be transferable. 
Quadrupeds, birds or fish taken lawfully or 
possessed in one part of New York State may be 
transported by the taker in the usual manner, and 
may be possessed by him in any part of this State 
for the same period of time that they may be law¬ 
fully possessed. 
We now come to the game breeding class of 
people, working under licenses from the Commis¬ 
sion. Any person to whom such a license shall 
have been issued may kill elk, deer, pheasants or 
ducks in his possession, in the following manner, 
